The price of perception
by chloemcg
Summary: A few months after Apollo decides to stay in Khur'ain, Phoenix gets a call from Nahyuta about Apollo having some eye problems and he refuses to let anyone help. He decides to take matters into his own hands and tries to get his former student to open up to him, little does anyone realise is that Apollo's problems are worse then expected. Can something be done before its too late?
1. The phone call

**Disclaimer: I don't own any characters from Ace attorney, the rights to the franchise belong to Capcom and not me.**

**The price of perception.**

* * *

It was a nice and pleasant day in Japanifornia.

The sun was shining, the season of Summer was fast approaching and everything was quite nice.

The city had been calm and even relaxed so there wasn't as many false accusations being thrown around and, therefore, no client had come for a good and solid week now. It was a good thing that there was peace all around the city but not so good because the bills were needing to be paid with mediocre piano songs that were poorly played.

It had been a solid couple of months since one of his students/employees, Apollo Justice, had decided to stay in Khura'in to try and help mend the legal system and to try and inspire some more lawyers to base themselves in the kingdom to try and set everything right after the tyrant queen Ga'ran had been booted off the thrown in court.

Everything was quiet for the most part.

The famous Phoenix Wright, attorney-at-law, was the only one occupying the "Wright anything agency", his adopted daughter was staying over at a friend's house for a sleepover and Athena had been given the day off due to her catching a case of hay fever. He had been busying himself at the agency in spite of the lack of work lately and simply just dived into some disregarded paperwork. He sat at his mahogany desk as he scribbled away, signing check after check and even having to sign letters and the very rare bit of fan mail.

The attorney in blue liked this part of his job the least, mainly because of how terribly boring and tedious everything was.

He glanced over to the nearby table clock that read "16:45 PM" and sighed.

It made him wish that something exciting would happen.

He also hadn't received any letters from Apollo at first but he assumed that was just because of the country's situation where the law was recovering. He had to wonder how he was doing, how he was coping with everything in Khura'in? He guessed that he was overwhelmed by all of the cases he was getting, especially since (as far as he knew) Apollo was the main attorney to go to so everybody went to him when it came to claims of homicide and even a few civil matters.

Phoenix shook his head.

He hoped he was doing well...

Everything remained quiet until, all of a sudden, the lawyer's phone burst out with the "Steel samurai theme song".

"Eek!"

His heart jumped into his throat and started to pound hard and fast, his whole body trembled and his breathing became erratic as he cried out in surprise.

It shocked him so much that he almost jumped right out of his chair and dropped his phone, but made a desperate fumble with his right hand and managed to snatch the phone right out of midair before swiftly open it and pressed it firmly to his ear so he could catch the voice of whoever decided to try calling him out of the blue.

His hand was still trembling as he gripped his phone so hard that he could have easily crushed the small device in half.

"H-Hello?" Phoenix answered, breathing deeply to calm himself from the intense shock he just went through. He felt as his heart slowly sunk back down into his chest where it belonged and he placed his free hand, still gripping the pen he was previously writing with a mere minute ago.

_"Greetings, Mr. Wright."_

The king of bluffing's eyes widened in their sockets. His heart skipped a beat. He recognised that overly calm voice. He would recognise it anywhere, even though he had only heard it once. He couldn't help but let out a disbelieving chuff of surprise as he exclaimed, leaping out of his chair and standing to his feet.

The force knocked the chair backwards and sent it hurtling to the floor.

"Hey, Nahyuta. This is an unexpected surprise!"

_(Especially since I had no idea you could even use a phone...)_ He thought to himself.

_"My apologies for troubling you, Mr. Wright, but I require your assistance with something."_

Phoenix was confused. He didn't know how he could help with whatever this was but he had a strong feeling that this was somehow related to a certain loud attorney that used to study beneath him, he didn't know how he knew that but something inside him was getting the strong impression that this involved the younger spiky-fringed attorney-at-law.

"Uhhh...sure, whatever it is you need, I'll be more then happy to help."

He could practically _feel _the absolute relief on the other end of the phone.

Nahyuta wasted no time and started to explain.

_"It first started about a month after Apollo had made his decision to stay in Khura'in to assist in making things right. At first there weren't many problems, however, he was blinking his eyes more then any other person would alas I didn't fret much about that at the time. But now Apollo would squint his eyes every once in awhile and would need to look at things really closely to read them."_

Phoenix frowned and he furrowed his wiry brows with concern, listening intently as the regent of Khura'in continued.

_"Things only recently got worse and he's started to bump into things and not seem to notice the most trivial things that anyone else would notice if they were looking right in front of them. I am beginning to worry because, even though Rayfa and myself had pleaded with him to get assistance, he refuses and insists he is perfectly alright."_

_(Hmmm...That does sound strange.)_

Alas the lawyer in blue could not help but roll his eyes at that.

It sounded typical of Apollo to push people away when he was dealing with something so he wasn't even the slightest bit surprised. He fought the urge to let out an exasperated sigh and simply mulled it over for a minute, especially when he considered the fact that Nahyuta wouldn't be calling him unless this was a serious situation.

He figured that there was more to this...

Still Phoenix raised his brow in a perplexed yet dubious manner. He had to admit that he was beginning to see that Nahyuta may have had a justifiable reason to worry about his adoptive brother, especially since (from what he was hearing) Apollo's behaviour was quite suspicious and strange. He scratched the top of his head confusedly.

"Sooo...what do you need my help with?"

Nahyuta's response to that came out with a fair bit of reluctance, but he still spat it out.

_"I considered the thought that if Apollo would not open up to me, then he perhaps would to you." _

The ace attorney was so happy that he wasn't drinking anything right then and there because he was sure that if he was then the drink would have been violently sucked down his trachea and then he would have spat it out all over the place followed by a horrific ten minutes of coughing and hacking his lungs out.

He shrieked so loud that he was sure that he had shredded his own throat to ribbons, "Wh-Wh-Wh-WHAT!? ME!?"

He wondered if the Last rites prosecutor actually thought about what that idea would entail?

Phoenix then proceeded to go on a tirade.

"I can't leave my country right now, we may be having some downtime right now but a client could come at anytime! What if someone came and I wasn't there? I mean, I know that Athena could probably handle it but I don't feel comfortable about leaving Athena and Trucy all on their own! I mean, what if something happens!? I want to help Apollo, really I do, but what if I get a new client out of the blue!?"

Nahyuta was all but silent on the other end —the Khura'inese monk seemed to have been waiting for the Ace attorney in blue to finish, utilising his famous patience and calm-temperedness and using it to quell the older attorney-at-law's worries as he listened to every little snippet of concern so he could address each little worry and stress he had.

When the lawyer had finally stopped talking, it was Nahyuta's turn to speak.

_"Worry not, Barbed one," _He said calmly, _"I have already made preparations for you to come to Khura'in. I have inquired about a friend of yours to come and take care of things while you are over here, I arranged your travel ticket in foresight and, whilst I understand this isn't ideal, I need your help. Apollo is my brother and the safety and well-being of my siblings__ means everything to me..."_

Nahyuta's voice shifted from reassuring to (sort of) pleading.

_"You had helped raise him while he lived in the United States and that is why I know he will open up to you. Please help him."_

The ace attorney was silent for several moments as he pondered upon this. Well, he was impressed that Nahyuta had sorted everything out in foresight and he couldn't help but be even more impressed that he was willing to go so far just to make those he cares about safe and happy. The barb-headed attorney was touched that the regent of Khura'in was willing to go so far just to help Apollo, the brother that he had helped Dhurke raise...until Phoenix himself took over and helped raise the young man into someone special.

It touched him so deeply that now he knew he couldn't leave this be.

Before Phoenix could say anymore to respond to the prompt request, Nahyuta said one last thing.

_"My putrid red pepper of a brother needs **you** to help him."_

Then he hung up.

Phoenix kept standing for awhile, phone still pressed firmly to his ear. He could feel his mind buzzing with anticipation as he now had a duty to go ahead and arrange his flight to get over to the kingdom, and he had no clue as to who would be looking after the agency and the girls during his absence but he had a feeling of dread settle in his gut that this was going to be an outcome he wouldn't take to very easily.

He finally forced his legs to move, sunk down, sat down in his chair to sit at his desk and hung his head.

He clicked his tongue and buried his face in his hands.

"Apollo...what trouble have you got yourself into now?"

* * *

**A/N: Heres the first chapter of "The price of perception".**

**Its mostly a fic about the father/son bond between Phoenix and Apollo and this takes place just after Spirit of justice. It also centres on something that I think happens with those of the Gramarye bloodline if their gift is used too frequently.**

**I hope you guys enjoy it.**

**-Chloemcg**


	2. Urgency increases

**Disclaimer: I don't own any characters from Ace attorney, the rights to the franchise belong to Capcom and not me.**

**The price of perception.**

* * *

Phoenix had started to arrange everything he needed to go to Khura'in.

Nahyuta's phone call was only two hours ago and the ace attorney in blue had been getting both himself and everything else organised since then.

He needed to be ridiculously prepared, after all.

He knew that Nahyuta had said that he had sorted everything about the travelling process out but he decided that it wouldn't hurt to be more thorough. He had confirmed the plane tickets belonged to him (he was dumbstruck when he discovered that Nahyuta bought him a first class ticket), he had grabbed a book that he'd borrowed from young Ahlbi Ur'gaid about the customs and specialties of Khura'in, he made sure to also reserve a spot in a Khura'inese hotel that was actually next to Apollo's new law office, and the last thing on his list was to try and mentally prepare himself for what was probably going to go down in Khura'in.

He was now shuffling about in his room whilst stuffing a few things in his cobalt blue aluminium suitcase such as an extra pair of clothes and jammies, his toothbrush and toothpaste, an extra necktie, an extra pair of shoes, some emergency batteries, etc.

After fifteen minutes or so, he finally managed to get everything he required for a three-day trip in.

He looked over his fully-packed suitcase with pride.

It had been difficult fitting everything he needed in there but he was happy that it did actually fit without making his bag burst. He liked his bag, especially because it had been through a heap load of travelling in its lifetime, he had it for ten years and he kept it almost as shiny as his precious attorney's badge —seriously, he never admitted it, but he loved his bag almost as much as he loved Charley the potted plant.

He flipped the latch, successfully locking the bag and it's contents, and smiled a triumphant smile.

But, behind that same smile, was concern...

He hadn't been able to stop worrying about Apollo since Nahyuta's phone call earlier and about a million thoughts had rushed through his mind at once, mostly concerning his former student. What could have been wrong with his ex-fledgling student? Why was he bumping into things? Why was he (apparently) avoiding the family he's got over there like the plague? Why was he insisting on going through _everything _all by himself?

Phoenix shook his head to himself.

Honestly why was that young man so determined to be a lone wolf...?

He was only just about to grab up his suitcase to drag towards the office entrance when he heard the door to his bedroom open up a fraction. His ear perked to the high-pitched creaking and he turned to face the person whom opened his door and his eyes widened when he saw a familiar young lady donning a blue top hat and a cape. Phoenix felt his heart stop with dread when he saw her and realised hat it was Trucy. The aspiring great magician had reached over to open the door and was beheld by the inconspicuous sight of her adopted father's bedroom, noticing all of the clothes and objects discarded and strewn across the floor, and then she saw the suitcase sat atop her adopted father's bed and frowned in confusion.

"Oh? Trucy! What's up?" The ace attorney inquired, noticing the sudden worry etched upon his 17-year-old little girl's face.

Trucy was silent for a few moments until she frowned, noticing the concern on the attorney's face.

"Daddy?" Trucy asked, looking worried, "Is everything alright?"

Phoenix panicked for a brief instant.

He didn't want to make his adopted daughter panic, especially because not only did he want to spare some grief should things with Apollo actually turning out to be in trouble but he also wanted his precious ray of light to keep being that positive, yet mischievous, influence like she always had been. She was his innocent cinnamon roll and he wanted to make her burdens as light as humanly possible.

He took a deep breath, turned around, walked over to where Trucy was standing and bent down a bit to meet her height while forcing a huge smile on his lips.

"Everything's fine, sweetheart, I just need to go out of town for a bit."

He sort of told the truth as he knew he couldn't lie to Trucy since she had a similar ability to Apollo and would catch him out immediately, yet he didn't want her, nor Athena, to fret about Apollo. He never felt comfortable lying to his adopted daughter's face but he had to do it for her sake, he couldn't have her worrying since she had a lot of things to worry about already (she never showed it, though, on account of her happy-go-Lucky attitude).

Trucy eyed her adopted father suspiciously, causing Phoenix to sweat with anxiety.

What if she caught on?

Was this going to be the day where his already-horrendous acting skills were going to fail him?

Thankfully, Trucy just smiled cheerily and said, "Okay, daddy!"

Phoenix fought back a sigh of relief.

_(Phew...Bullet dodged.)_

Trucy started to help pick items off of the floor, idly humming a merry tune beneath her breath, trying to help tidy the bedroom as she put herself to good use whilst weaving herself around the man with the spiky-hedgehog hair whom had raised her since she was eight. As she accumulated lots and lots of random items in her arms, she made a random comment.

"Y'know, daddy, Mother's Day is coming up soon and I was thinking about it and I was wondering if you're any closer with finding me a new mama...?"

A penny could have dropped after she had asked that.

Phoenix stared at Trucy for a very long few moments, looking at her as though she had been holding a stick of dynamite. It was almost as if he had some sort of epiphany and it was so big of a revelation that it almost literally knocked him off of his own two feet.

_(...M-Mothers...day...?)_

That could be it...!

He needed to talk with _her_.

She would know what's going on.

"U-Um, excuse me, darling, but daddy's gotta make a phone call!"

With that he frantically stumbled and staggered out of the room with his feet crashing against the floor below, speeding out of the door as though he was told that he had 5 seconds to evacuate from a fire. He left a trail of excuses as he dashed out of his bedroom as fast as his legs could carry him and, with many items still on the floor, that was a tad difficult as he almost tripped over his own two feet and the objects littering the room around him.

This left Trucy stranding awkwardly around as she stared after the lawyer, watching with wide eyes just after he had left.

"Huuuuh? What just...happened?"

She gawked awkwardly.

* * *

As soon as Phoenix left the room, he grabbed his mobile phone and dialled the number he knew too well.

Phoenix put the phone to his ear and started to talk.

"Hey, Thalassa. I gotta ask ya something."

The woman on the other end of the phone was known as Thalassa Gramarye, and she was the mother of Apollo and Trucy. It was a bit of a complicated tale but neither Trucy nor Apollo knew of their heritage nor their relation to one another and Phoenix wished to keep it that way until it was the right time for them to actually know.

He heard Thalassa's soft-spoken voice, strongly accented with a hint of Borginian, answer him.

"_Yes? What is it, Mr. Wright?" _She suddenly sounded concerned, "_Are my children alright?"_

Phoenix felt his heart quiver when he heard that tone in her voice. He knew that she feared for both Apollo and Trucy's safety each and every time he called her to speak with her about their and he understood this, it just hurt a bit that she had to stay away from her children for now and couldn't help...and it might hurt even more if his suspicions were confirmed.

"They're fine, Thalassa, don't worry...! I just need to ask ya something, though."

"_Hmm? What is it?_"

"Apollo has, apparently, been acting strangely when it comes to his eyes. Do you know what could be going on?"

Thalassa was silent on the other end of the phone for a good minute or so, as if taking in this information. Even though she wasn't saying anything, Phoenix could practically sense the consternation and worry rising on her end and it was making his heart pound hard in his chest to the point where he was almost legitimately afraid he was going to have a heart attack right there on the spot.

It felt like an eternity before she started to speak again.

She said, pure concern creating a shaky undertone, "_Wh-What exactly has he been doing? How many times has he been using his power?"_

It had been like yesterday when Phoenix explained to Thalassa that both Trucy and Apollo had inherited _her _special powers of perception, he could recall the pride and excitement in her voice as she rejoiced that her long lost baby boy had the power to notice the most subtle of twitches —but now she seemed afraid for him with this power...

Phoenix scratched the top of his head in deep thought. He had no idea how much he had been using his perception but, if anything Nahyuta had said was anything to go by, he would have to guess a lot —especially after his staying in Khura'in. Now just thinking of this, it made his own fear for Apollo grow even more. He felt guilty, why didn't he even notice...or care to give a thought to Apollo? Surely he couldn't have been _that _busy, right?

Thalassa seemed to sense the lawyer's guilt and started to explain, her voice softening.

She still sounded worried.

_"Whenever our special gift is used, the eyeballs take on a large amount of strain and that strain can take its toll."_ She started to explain further, "_You see, if someone who has the ability to perceive uses their gift too much, then it takes a heavy toll on their eyesight. When they sense a nervous habit and then try to perceive it that remains unaffected...but they have trouble seeing everything else."_

Phoenix felt his heart plummet into his stomach.

_(I need to talk with Trucy and make sure she doesn't use her own perceive ability too much.)_

"I-I-I promise that I'm going to go to Khura'in and and help Apollo as best as I can, I swear it!"

Thalassa went silent for a moment after Phoenix's exclamation before she said_, "Alright. Please help my boy, Mr. Wright, I know you can do it..."_

Phoenix could vividly picture Thalassa wearing a knowing smile as she said those words to him and it fuelled his determination to go out there and assist his student who needed him the most right now. He wasn't going to ignore Apollo, not when he needed him to stick by him right now. Apollo needed to be in tip top shape to help Khura'in and its legal system to heal and, if he wasn't going to accept the help from those close to him then he needed to go and try and convince him to break down those mental walls he had put up.

As he hung up the phone, Phoenix could feel that all-too familiar fire burn in his soul.

He needed to get the bottom of this.

He was not going to let Apollo fail.

Then the ace attorney started to make plans to get to the kingdom of Khura'in post haste.

* * *

**A/N: Heres the second chapter of "The price of perception" and Phoenix is going to Khura'in to see whats going on with our fave attorney in red. Lets hope his problems isn't what Thalassa said they are.**

**I hope you lot are enjoying this short fanfic.**

**Don't forget to review and fave.**

**-Chloemcg **


	3. Confronting Apollo: Part 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own any characters from Ace attorney, the rights to the franchise belong to Capcom and not me.**

**The price of perception.**

* * *

The airplane ride was filled with anxiety as Phoenix watched the world whirl by.

Normally he was afraid of heights but he did like gazing out into the window to look at the clouds passing by. They were puffy and white and the sky was as blue as the ocean on a sunny day, it was so relaxing that he couldn't help but lean his head against the plane window as he observed with a tired and calm gaze. He almost wished to doze off to sleep peacefully but he couldn't because he had too many thoughts already rushing through his mind and it was too much of a headache.

The skies were calm and peaceful.

But he couldn't focus on the lovely view for long.

All he could think about was Apollo and how the chat between them was going to become, he knew it was going to be awkward but he knew it needed to be had. It was going to be difficult but it needed to be done. He felt a tremor course down his spinal cord at the mere thought and he couldn't hold back a sigh of soft frustration. He couldn't help but wonder why Apollo could not just try and rely on those to help him?

He could have sought out Nahuyta or maybe even Rayfa to assist.

It could be a huge pain sometimes.

But, at the same time, nobody could really blame Apollo since he had gone through so much after losing his mentor two years ago, losing his best friend around a year ago and his adopted father earlier the next year...and now was possibly facing the frightening prospect of going totally blind.

It was frightening, especially since Apollo relied more on his sight than anyone else —yet Thalassa did say to him that his perceive ability may actually be the only thing ineffective by this, however, he didn't think that still having that would be as useful as having actual eyesight.

Apollo needed his eyesight to not only help him see the truth but everything else.

It would probably seriously effect his mental health, too.

Phoenix was abruptly yanked away from his thoughts when he heard a familiar computerised jingle before the voice announcer thing spoke up, giving a piece of generic information to the passengers onboard.

"We will be arriving in the kingdom of Khura'in shortly..."

Phoenix sat up, peeling his head away from the side window. He could feel dread begin to settle in the pit of his stomach as the implications of what was about to happen started to sink in. He was about to confront Apollo and Phoenix could get his former student to get his eyes checked or die trying...okay, he'd rather not die but still.

_(Okay, that's enough thinking. It's confrontation time...)_

* * *

It didn't take long for Phoenix to deport from the plane as he stepped off.

He started to navigate himself over towards the bazaar, the first time he had arrived at Khura'in he had a bit of trouble finding his way but he was a bit more experienced now and he knew his way around better then he did before. He wandered through the area, expertly weaving through multiple people, who didn't even seem to recognise him as one of the people whom freed them from the tyrant Queen Ga'ran's rule.

He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw a familiar figure stood in the crowd.

It was, unexpectedly, the person who he had to see.

It was Apollo.

"Hap'piraki, Mr. Wright!" He exclaimed, his loud voice cracking beneath pressure.

Phoenix ran up to meet his former student, a smile on his face, but his smile faltered when he saw the state the young man was in. He could feel his heart and stomach twist with a mix of both shock and guilt and he was sure that his eyes widened, but subtlety so Apollo probably didn't see it.

The spiky-fringed attorney in red looked awful.

Apollo looked like a zombie, to put it bluntly.

He had dark circles surrounding his eyes, his hair was messier than normal (even his horns of hair were sticking out more), his complexion was as white as snow, he was pale, stubble was growing on his chin and around his mouth, his posture was sunken, and he looked as though he hadn't gotten a good nights sleep in a straight fortnight. He also had bits of dirt, grime and other rubbish covering his clothes as if he hasn't washed his outfit properly and just let anything stick to it.

Probably didn't even have the time to wash his clothes properly...

Phoenix felt his heart pour out with sympathy for poor Polly, perhaps he could lend him some assistance while he was staying as well as hopefully finding out the problem was exactly. He may have had an idea what it was but he was still clinging on to a small hope that it could be something else a bit less serious.

"Hey, Apollo! You look...tired." he fumbled for a good word to use since he didn't wish to make things awkward.

Apollo flashed a forced, albeit tired, smile at the spiky-haired lawyer.

"Yeah, I've been busy. Really, _really_ busy."

The two attorneys-at-law walked in silence, casually strolling towards the Justice law offices.

It didn't take long until Phoenix started to notice that the younger 24-year-old was showing those strange behaviours and it was exactly what Nahyuta had described —Apollo was squinting his eyes hard at anything he was reading and would even occasionally rub his knuckles over his eyeballs to try and clear his vision, blink multiple times constantly, he was even grumbling with frustration from time-to-time.

"What are you doing here, Mr. Wright?" Apollo asked, still rather shocked.

Phoenix replied in a serious tone, "Nahyuta called me about a little problem you seem to have." and he then pointed to his own eyes for silent emphasis before continuing, "He knows you almost as much as I do."

Apollo scoffed and rolled his eyes, sounding a tad miffed all of a sudden.

"Well, as I always say, I'm fine-!"

The spiky-fringed lawyer was cut off when he promptly walked smack straight into a wooden pillar.

Apollo let out a muffled yelp in pain as his face made contact with the hard wood and he couldn't help but feel the frustration build, the attorney in red also could feel as multiple eyes set on him...especially the pair of eyes belonging to his former boss.

Phoenix blinked in a concerned yet disbelieving manner.

That pillar was _right _in front of him and he honestly couldn't even try to avoid that?

If his former student was trying to convince him that he was doing alright then he was doing a job so bad that he could have said that "aliens were invading" and he would tell in a nanosecond that he was totally fibbing. The ironic thing with Apollo Justice was that, even though he was good at spotting lies with his special ability, he was awfulat telling them...

"You sure could've fooled me." The attorney with the black spiky hair commented dryly.

Apollo just peeled himself away from the pillar and reached his hands out to feel the large pole of wood that he just bashed into. He rubbed his forehead tenderly, wincing a bit in pain since it was his overexposed forehead that took the brunt of the impact. It left a slight bruise in the middle of his head.

He could practically feel the worried eyes his boss was giving him.

"Ummm, Apollo? Maybe I should..." He went to put his hand on Apollo's shoulder, hoping to grip it so he could use it to literally steer his ex-student in the right direction of his law office. He didn't want to keep watching the young man bump into things and he wanted to avoid him getting hurt. However, as if sensing his hand, Apollo jerked away in refusal as he just walked on ahead.

He grumpily muttered something about "Not needing any help".

Phoenix also noticed the odd way Apollo carried himself, the way he would take rather cautious and tentative steps as though he were afraid of being blindsided...

This was truly worrying.

The last time Phoenix saw Apollo behave like this was just after Clay Terran's death and he really didn't like this dark, brooding attitude Apollo was displaying. It could be because he was tired, like he said, but Phoenix knew full well that Apollo usually pushed people away and acted moody when he was trying to sort something out alone.

It took ten more minutes of weaving and twisting through the crowd of people in the bazaar until they arrived at Justice law offices and Phoenix had to admit that he was impressed.

It was a small building, probably the same one that Dhurke Sahdmadhi had used back before he had become an international fugitive, and it looked a bit rundown yet the sign out front had Khura'inese calligraphy written upon it with an emerald green Chinese-style dragon in the background, the English translation of "Justice law offices" was written above the foreign version.

The two marched inside.

It looked similar to the underground hideout but it had mahogany wooden walls and flooring, it had a Japanese-themed aesthetic. There were sliding paper doors and a large coffee table in the middle of the room that had a small and humble shrine of Dhurke that had a Nahmanda lain in front of the photo frame of the man. In the back of the room was a desk that Apollo had clearly claimed as his own and it looked just as messy as his own desk, not much different. The room had a nice fresh scent that made Phoenix feel as though his lungs had been cleansed.

It all looked impressive and Phoenix verbalised this.

"Wow. It looks good, Apollo."

Apollo grinned at the compliment.

"Thanks, Mr. Wright."

The two stepped inside and Phoenix warily eyed his former student as he slowly stumbled across the room, not even caring as he came scarily close to bumping into more things.

The blue clad attorney-at-law narrowed his eyes since he knew that the lawyer in red was going to be stubborn like this and he was determined to get Apollo to open up to him and then try and convince him to get him the medical assistance he desperately needs.

And he was going to die trying.

* * *

**A/N: This is the first part of Apollo and Phoenix's confrontation. This is going to be a two parter chapter and we'll need to see how Phoenix can break through Polly's barriers and get him some help. I hope you guys like it.**

**Don't forget to review and fave, everybody.**

**-Chloemcg **


	4. Confronting Apollo: Part 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own any characters from Ace attorney, the rights to the franchise belong to Capcom and not me.**

**The price of perception.**

* * *

The two lawyers felt a rather awkward atmosphere brew between them both.

It only grew as they both entered the law office and went over to one of the corners where a big, rather magnificent, yet surprisingly understated desk stood. Phoenix sat himself down in a nearby chair as he oversaw Apollo stumble over to said desk and he was nearly stunned beyond belief when he saw how messy the desk was. It was scarily similar to his own desk in the office, as a matter of fact, he almost had to blink when he realised that it wasn't actually his own desk but Apollo's.

Phoenix squinted his eyes as he watched his student felt around the desktop, as if feeling for something, a particular something.

All he accomplished was brushing off stray pieces of paper that fluttered to the floor.

Apollo sat down in the office desk chair parked behind the desk rather gingerly as he plopped himself down on the seat, barely missing it, and he started to dig through several sheets of paperwork...or at least that ones that remained on his desk. He rummaged through the paper whilst he squinted his eyes at them, muttering huffily beneath his breath as he skim-read through what he could.

It didn't go unnoticed by Phoenix, though.

"Apollo. I honestly think you need some medical attention."

His comment was ignored.

The frustration building in Apollo's being was very palpable, especially from where he sat.

He watched as the horn-fringed younger lawyer leaned in to stare uncomfortably close to each and everyone of his papers. The 24-year-old dressed in red glowered at each paper, but then he seemed to see some words and he gasped in shock as he jerked back in his seat.

Apollo proceeded to exclaim, grabbing the piece of paper in his hand "A-Ah! A new case!"

"Sorry, Mr. Wright, I've got some work to do..."

Before Phoenix could stop him, Apollo quickly rose out of his seat and wandered around the office, probably to grab a pen, in a very strange manner. He was still walking slowly yet loudly, his feet stomping hard on the floor, as he kept his eyes open —yet he seemed to look around in a slow manner.

Seeing him walk like that...it was so strange.

It was getting stranger and stranger by the second and Phoenix's concern was starting to increase dramatically.

_(What should I do? I'm a lawyer, not a doctor or an ophthalmologist!)_

Apollo started looking around with eyes squinted until they were practically narrowed slits. His footsteps were heavy as they "clomped" loudly against the floors. He still appeared very tentative about walking around the place and he even seemed to try and secretly reach out to grab anything to use as some sort of guide...However, he didn't anticipate a bit of loose floorboard that stuck out of the ground.

His foot got caught on that sticky-out bit of flooring and it caused him to trip over it.

He came crashing to the floor below and he landed _hard _on his front.

Phoenix, alarmed, bolted up and raced to his ex-student's aid. The spiky-haired attorney was at his side in seconds as he found himself towering over him and watched as Apollo used both hands to push himself up so he could flip himself over and he sat on his backside, he kept his gaze down to the ground in front of him.

"Apollo!" He nearly shrieked.

Apollo groaned sorely as he rubbed his head.

"Owwwww..."

The lawyer held his hand in front of the attorney in red's face and held up four fingers.

"How many fingers am I holding up?"

Apollo squinted his eyes as though trying very hard to focus his eyesight on the digits in front of him.

"U-Uhhh...?"

Phoenix observed this and narrowed his eyes sceptically.

He had a really good idea (some could even say it was as plain as crystal) as to what was happening —thanks to Thalassa— but he needed Apollo to admit it so he could help properly. He let Apollo try and count his fingers for a few more seconds before he secretively, making it so his former protégé couldn't see, slipped his other hand into his pocket and felt his fingers furl around a certain comma shaped jewel. He kept his ocean blue eyes firmly locked on Apollo and he was sure that the atmosphere had gratified significantly.

The spiky-haired ace attorney then spoke up, the volume of his voice raising an octave dramatically.

"Apollo. Are you hiding something?"

Apollo flinched hard when that question.

It was as if that question literally smacked him across the face.

All at once, darkness descended the room and chains sprang forth, linking from the walls and the ceilings until finally three big red locks slammed right in place, circling the middle of the young man's chest. They were a trio of pretty burly-looking locks, too, and they all made a chill trickle down Phoenix's spine.

Psyche locks.

Apollo's face paled and he was glancing wildly across the room, eyes darting as his shoulders rose and fell rhythmically with his rapid breathing.

It was obvious he was lying.

"U-U-Uhhh...n-n-no! I'm not hiding anything!"

Phoenix scowled darkly at Apollo, his deep blue eyes blazing with the flames of wrath.

"Apollo Justice! I thought you knew better than to lie to me, young man!" He admonished, using a stern and angry tone of voice. It was the same kind of tone he would use if he had to scold Trucy for misbehaving (those occasions were rarer than diamonds) and he could tell that it was having its desired effect on Apollo.

"Wh-Wh-What!?" The spiky-fringed 22-year-old squeaked, now shivering, "I'm not...! I wouldn't...!"

Phoenix narrowed his eyes angrily. He folded his arms firmly across his chest, still glaring sternly down at the downed lawyer as he watched him squirm beneath his strong and soul-piercing gaze —he stood strong and firm as he kept his eyes on Apollo.

He thought to himself, (_I'm sure this is serious if Apollo is lying to me.)_

"So, how much have you been using your perception ability?"

Apollo twiddled his thumbs, whistling to hide his oh-so visible anxiety. This wasn't of much use, however, especially considering that he was sweating bullets and he was showing every sign humanly possible that he was hiding something.

The _giant red psyche locks_ didn't help matters.

"Oh, uhhh, ummm, uhhh, I-I-I haven't been using it too often."

A blatant lie.

"You maybe good at perceiving lies but you are the worst at telling them." The lawyer in blue commented crossly, "Okay then. What if I were to talk to certain people and ask them if they've seen your bracelet squeezing and then staring at them with bugging eyeballs? That's what happens when you perceive the truth, if I remember right?"

Apollo jerked back in stunned shock and he started absentmindedly rubbing a finger against his bracelet, he didn't seem to notice he was doing it.

"U-Uh, yeah, that d-does happen."

Phoenix literally pointed out what Apollo was doing.

"So why are you rubbing your bracelet? I don't even have your eye of perception and even _I_ can see your nervous tic!"

Apollo flinched hard, eyes bulging out of their sockets in shock, and he looked down at his own arm and noticed his finger on his bracelet. He definitely didn't seem to have noticed his tic and was even more surprised that he was displaying his nervous habit more obviously then his own clients ever had.

He yelped in shock and almost fell backwards from where he sat on the floor.

Phoenix saw that the psyche lock jiggled slightly.

He smirked to himself.

_(Just a bit more pushing should do the trick...)_

The psyche-lock kept trembling, appearing as though it was just about to break, and it was shaking just as much as Apollo was.

The older lawyer's voice took on a sudden accusing edge as he pointed his famous "objection" finger at Apollo, almost jabbing him in the chest with it as he started barking at him. He knew he was probably being a tad harsh but he wasn't going to tolerate being lied to, he wasn't stupid and he wished his own people (former or not) wouldn't treat him like he was.

"Ever since I've come here to see you you've been tripping, stumbling, bumping into things that should be very clear since they're **_right in front of you_** and acting very strange in general! I know you, Apollo, and you need to trust me!"

Phoenix sighed to calm and centre himself.

The lawyer in blue thought, _(Okay, I need to calm down.) _

He stooped down knelt in front of the frightened spiky-fringed lawyer, his voice was still stern and even fatherly. The lawyer with the famous, slicked back, jet black, spiky hair finally noticed something else about Apollo; when he got a much closer look, he saw that the whites of the younger man's eyes were mixed with the colours of bright red and pink, looking bloodshot, his brown coffee-brown irises were rimmed with a scarlet red colour and his pupils were severely dilated.

A pang of concern hit the ace attorney right in the heart because those eye colours didn't look normal in the slightest —it was no wonder Apollo couldn't see, his eyes looked severely messed up!

"Apollo. I need you to be honest with me here. You can't see very well, can you?"

That was when it happened.

The red psyche-lock had started to tremble and shiver, quaking due to pressure, before finally breaking apart whilst the chains that sprung around had crackled and retreated to the corners, ceiling and floors that they originally sprung forth from.

The psyche-lock had been broken.

All that was left was an emotionally shaken Apollo...

Apollo finally looked up at his old boss and his lower lip started to tremble, his body shaking and he finally seemed to drop that facade he seemed to have tried so hard to keep up. His thorns of hair withered like flowers without water and his eyes, although red and irritated, started to tear up and he looked up at him with the most pleading look he could muster.

"Ph-Ph-Phoenix...I'm not fine. I haven't been able to see straight for a month now and I'm scared. I...I don't want to go blind, Mr. Wright! Will you please help me...?"

Phoenix felt his heart shatter when he heard that admission.

This was the first time Apollo had addressed him by his first name.

He could hear the fright in the young man in red's voice and it was seriously heartbreaking. He didn't even need Athena's unique sense of hearing to hear the fright in his heart, poor Apollo must had been so scared about his eyesight steadily leaving him and trying to convince himself he was fine...just like always.

How long had he been fighting this alone?

He wondered why Apollo hadn't asked for any help but quickly realised that the young man had gone through almost everything in his life all alone; he had gone through being orphaned at a year old alone, he had to be sent to the US alone, forced out of his homeland, he had to practically grow up alone, he had to cope with going through the bar exam alone and he felt as though he had to go through the death of his best friend and (not to mention) the man who raised him alone.

Apollo must had tried to go through this alone, too, but found he just couldn't anymore...

"I'm sorry I lied, Mr. Wright...! I ju-ust...just couldn't..." he trailed off for a moment, tears streaming down his face and falling to the wooden floors below, "I...I really need your help..."

The lawyer promised himself that his protege wouldn't have to be alone anymore and he was going to keep it no matter what. He didn't need to be asked twice as he let a kind-hearted smile blossom across his face, he offered his hand to the vulnerable-appearing young man on the ground in front of him.

He was going to help him.

"...Of course I'm going to help, son."

* * *

**A/N: Heres the admission as well as a fatherly moment between Phoenix and Polly. ****Lets see what will happen to Apollo next chapter. Will he be blind? Will his eyesight get worse or get better? What will Nahyuta and the others think?**

**Don't forget to review and fave.**

**-Chloemcg **


	5. Through the eyes of hope

**Disclaimer: I don't own any characters from Ace attorney, the rights to the franchise belong to Capcom and not me.**

**The price of perception.**

* * *

The lawyer ended up having to basically carry poor Apollo to Tehm'pul Temple.

How he even managed to muster the strength to accomplish such a feat was beyond even him. All he knew was that he had bent down to kneel down, somehow managed to insist that Apollo grab hold of his shoulders and hold on tightly so he could support the young man properly, tying both arms behind himself so he could hold the younger man up. Apollo was heavier then he appeared, it turned out. Phoenix basically gave him a piggy-back-ride all the way there and, whilst Apollo was more than likely humiliated by this, the ace attorney in blue was too afraid to let his ex-protégé walk on his own out of fear that he would either bump into something or trip and hurt himself in the process.

Apollo was far too ashamed and deflated already that he didn't even have the energy to complain.

Plus, it served as punishment for hiding such a serious condition.

Phoenix, still hefting Apollo on his back, began to stagger beneath the weight. His knees started to hurt, threatening to buckle right out from beneath him, and his spine started to feel as though it was twisting into a pretzel knot. He groaned and hissed his breaths through clenched teeth as he continued to carry Apollo.

It was difficult.

_"Huff...huff, huff...agggh..."_

_(This...must be a sign...of how old...I'm getting...!) _He thought painfully, suddenly becoming depressed.

Apollo limply hung from Phoenix's back, trying to hide his face to avoid other people looking at him. He still couldn't see very well but he could _feel _the eyes gluing themselves on him and he felt his face becoming red with embarrassment —he was one of the people who had helped free Khura'in and now he was being given a piggy-back ride just because he was able to see much of anything.

He felt like a 3-year-old, for some reason.

Apollo tried hiding his face all while Phoenix carried him, struggling all the way whilst huffing and puffing like a train blowing smoke, and it felt like an eternity until they had managed to traverse through the bazaar (people gawking at his passenger all the way) and he finally reached Tehm'pul Temple.

The lawyer in blue marched up the steps while trying to straighten out his twisted spinal cord.

He was quickly met by a few familiar faces.

Nahyuta, Ahlbi Ur'gaid and Rayfa were stunned when they had heard what was happening.

Datz would have been there too but he was off on a small trip to the mountains in the prison up there to advocate for the unfairly-prisoned inmates.

Phoenix had to explain the nature of Apollo's ability for them to understand and they were understandably concerned and worried beyond all measure. It was difficult to explain everything but when they heard that Apollo was in serious danger of going blind, they (justifiably) felt helpless and guilty that they didn't take action sooner.

Ahlbi was frowning with concern as he observed silently.

Apollo signalled to his old boss that he wanted to be put down and Phoenix, albeit rather reluctantly, obliged by lowering himself to his knees and untangling his arms from behind his back. Admittedly it was a bit of a relief because his spine was seriously starting to knot in response to having to carry someone like that and he was clearly getting too old to carry anyone anymore.

It was a sad, sad truth...

Nahyuta, eyes threatening to flow with tears, reached forwards and grabbed both of Apollo's hands in his own.

Phoenix couldn't help but notice that Nahyuta was acting the kindest he had ever seen him, perhaps it was because of Apollo's fragile condition that he was acting so kind or maybe his protective brotherly urges from when they were younger had resurfaced?

Either way, the ace attorney found his heart melting from the sight.

"Why in the name of the Holy mother must you torture yourself so...?"

Apollo didn't answer the monk and just turned away, probably to hide the look of intense sadness on his face...but not even _he_ could hide that. He didn't say anything and just grit his teeth as he shut his red-rimmed, poor-sighted, brown eyes; nobody could really see it but no one was ignoring his hide-in-a-shell-like-a-tortoise attitude either.

Apollo glanced away bitterly.

"Y-You've had enough on your plate with being this country's regent and, besides, you didn't spare a thought to me while I've been gone...why do ya suddenly care now?"

Nahuyta frowned sternly.

"Apollo, you're my little brother. It is my job to care about you. I am well aware that I hadn't been the greatest of brothers for a long time and while you were going through loss-after-loss where was I? All the way over here. I know I was being entangled in the web of lies weaved by some spider of a monarch tyrant but that's no excuse. I want to -no- I **NEED** to make it up to you."

Apollo felt his eyes swell with tears of emotion.

"I...I'm sorry, Nahyuta, I just didn't want you or anybody to be burdened by me-!"

**WHACK!**

Nobody saw it coming as Rayfa, in a fit of rage, raised her priestess staff and proceeded to whack Apollo over the top of the head. Her eyes were narrowed furiously and her face was twisting and had reddened so much that her complexion was liken to a ripe tomato. The princesses' eyes were also shedding small droplets of unshed tears as she stood there, trembling with rage.

She started to berate the younger lawyer.

"DO NOT DARE SAY SUCH NONSENSE, HORN HEAD!" Rayfa shrieked, "DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND HOW CONCERNED WE WERE FOR A TWIT SUCH AS YOU!?"

Apollo flinched out of shock and pain as he swiftly raised a hand to rub at the place where Rayfa had whacked him with her staff. He stared and squinted hard at her blurred form with a look of aghast whilst he was also overcome with disbelief.

"R-Rayfa..."

**WHACK!**

**TWONK!**

"ADRESS ME AS "YOUR BENEVOLENCE" WHEN I AM BERATING YOU, MISTER JUSTICE!" Rayfa shrieked after giving Apollo an additional two whacks on the head with her staff.

A loud jangly sound erupted from the staff each time she delivered a blow to the top of Apollo's head and each smack resulted with both a small bump appearing on the top of his head and his famous horns of hair faltering a bit with a blend of embarrassment and displeasure of being whacked.

"Okay, okay, okay! Stop hitting me, please! I already have bad eyesight, I don't need a concussion too!"

Rayfa was about to hit Apollo once again but a swift halting gesture of Nahyuta's arm prevented her from doing so.

That was when the former-queen, Amara Sigatar Khura'in, had come running.

"Alright, I have summoned the royal physician to look Apollo over. He will be in the best of care."

Everyone felt a little better after hearing that, and were even really relieved to hear that Apollo would be receiving the best care in the whole kingdom but there was still that persistent yet stubborn bit of worry clinging to their minds and hearts.

Amara then turned to face Apollo and gently took his hand in hers, giving it a quick squeeze of reassurance.

She wanted the young man whom she considered as her own son to have at least a semblance of feeling comforted, she wished to try and be a bit of a mother to the boy her late husband took in as his own son and raised alongside Nahuyta and to help him as much as she could. He was the young man who had freed her son and daughter, after all, so she felt as though she owed it to him.

Apollo softened his eyes softly at her.

Amara led him away and into a nearby room to get looked over by the royal physician —the same one that helped Rayfa be born and one of the few people who knew of her true heritage, he even knew a few of the other secrets of the royal family but was always pushed aside so he just kept his lips zipped shut.

The huge doors to the royal chamber closed behind them.

Mostly everything was silent as everyone awaited for some news about Apollo's prognosis.

Phoenix sat on a bench just outside the large room, waiting for Apollo to emerge from within to see if anything could be done about his sight; he couldn't keep from being worried about his former student and he just leaned back in his seat, rubbing his painfully sore back. He wracked his brain, how could he have prevented this? How couldn't he have spared a thought for his loyal student...the one who had studied under him when he (Phoenix) was in one of his darkest places?

He felt so bad about it...

He jerked up abruptly when his phone started ringing.

He grabbed his phone out of his pocket and held it to his ear, answering it.

"_B-Boss! Mr. Wright!_" A familiar young girl's voice cried out, panicked, "_Is Apollo okay!?_"

Phoenix felt his heart stop in his chest.

"A-Athena!? Why are you calling!?"

_"Trucy told me. She had a feeling something was up with Apollo, especially since you were acting really strange...plus I could **hear** your heart screech with concern and guess this had something to do with Apollo,"_

Phoenix fought the urge to roll his eyes and then pinch the bridge of his nose, why hadn't he expected that his own behaviour would draw unwanted attention? He hadn't meant to make Trucy so worried that she would become worried. But he also hadn't meant for his daughter to catch on but he supposed he _was _being painfully obvious with his behaviour that something was up...and she always had been knife-sharp when it came to these sorts of things. And he should have also guessed that she'd let Athena in on it.

He honestly wasn't sure whether to be impressed or annoyed.

"Okay, fine, I'll explain a bit. But don't tell Trucy about this, okay? I intend to talk to her about this myself."

Phoenix started to explain what was going on for the second time in as much as 10 minutes and when he'd had finished his explanation, he could hear Athena start shrieking over the phone. It was so loud that, with backwards jerk with his hand, he held it away from his face whilst wincing painfully with his eardrum now ringing.

_"Apollo! That stubborn, pig-headed, moron!"_ She thundered.

Phoenix could just envision the ginger young woman in yellow screeching with her little digital friend necklace, Widget, glowing a bright and intense red with the most fury he had ever seen on a cute little device. He was even sure he could hear the phone in her ever-tightening grip start snapping a bit on the other end. She just went on a tangent on how furious she was that Apollo refused to get help sooner, but he knew that she was simply acting out of worry and concern.

The phone was still held a short distance from his ear, but it wasn't far enough so he couldn't hear her angry rambling.

Phoenix sighed exasperatedly. He guessed that he'd need to explain to Trucy and Athena about Apollo's new..._problem_ when he got back. Keeping them in the dark now was pretty pointless now. He had to hang up in the midst of Athena's rambling when he heard the door start opening and he jolted to attention, whirling around to await the outcome of Apollo's visit to the doctor.

Apollo finally stepped out of the room and turned to face his old mentor, walking a bit more confidently then he was before, revealing that he was now wearing a pair of glasses that had bronze frames and thick lenses that would hopefully make it easier for him to see his surroundings.

Phoenix smiled with relief.

If all Apollo needed were a pair of glasses then perhaps his vision _could _be saved.

"So?" The ace attorney asked expectantly, "How are they?"

Apollo smiled the first genuine smile his boss had seen him wear since when he had arrived, raising a hand to adjust his new glasses on the bridge of his nose a little bit. He felt a bit like a nerd but he was so happy that his new spectacles were improving his vision that he decided to try and not complain too much about it. He had a bit of a headache but that was simply what came with his new glasses. He felt as though he was stepping into a new course of his life and, for the first time in a while, felt as though he could take on the entire world.

"I can actually see _you_ so I guess they're doing what they're supposed to."

Phoenix stood up and took his student's hand in his own and shook it vigorously.

He said happily, "Good to have you back, Apollo,"

When Phoenix looked into Apollo's eyes, they still looked a bit irritated but (now with the glasses on) his pupils looked more normal-sized and the redness around his irises appeared to be receding a bit. The whites of his eyes were becoming less pink and bloodshot. They looked more normal and calmed.

Nahuyta smiled warmly, "Those glasses really suit you, Apollo."

Rayfa eyed Apollo with a crude (and rather smug) brow.

"You look a bit more intelligent than normal, horn head."

Ahlbi commented, bowing, "They look cool, Mr. Justice!"

It was good that Rayfa had calmed down since earlier and had stopped whacking Apollo with her staff. She had seemed more relaxed and her face was no longer tense and bright red, she just exhumed a deep breath. She turned to converse with Nahyuta and Ahlbi and they had a talk about how they would assist more with the country affairs and such.

In the meantime, Phoenix looked Apollo with a look of shame and guilt etched upon his own face.

"I owe you an apology, Apollo."

Apollo blinked in bewilderment and perplexity. He wondered what his ex-mentor and idol was apologising for? As far as he knew, he hadn't done anything wrong.

Phoenix took the silence as his cue to continue.

"While you were over here, struggling, I was over in Japanifornia just getting on with my own life. I should have been checking up on you more. I'm so sorry..."

Apollo reached a hand up to tweak his new glasses and offered his old mentor a gentle smirk.

"Don't be. I get it."

Phoenix shook his head stubbornly. He wasn't going to let Apollo think that he didn't care, he was steadfast in apologising to him and he still fretted about Trucy getting the same thing as him. He also promised to take care of both Trucy and Apollo for Thalassa so he felt as though he had failed them both by neglecting Apollo like that.

He closed his eyes and hung his head in shame.

"This still doesn't excuse me not calling or writing or anything..."

Phoenix could have sworn that the lens of Apollo's new glasses were glinting just as brightly as his sense of justice at that moment as the latter's eyes hardened with determinedly. Because he could see again, he would work harder but he would also try and take a bit more care of himself. He may of been busy but he couldn't keep worrying those around him, not if he intended to return to Japanifornia someday and stand side-by-side with Phoenix Wright once again.

Just like they had when they solved everything in the grand court...

He was going to prove to Phoenix that he was stronger then he'd ever been.

"It's okay, Mr. Wright. I'm fine now."

* * *

**A/N: Heres the end of the final chapter, I hope you guys enjoyed this story.**

**As you guys have probably guessed, Apollo is my fave character in Ace attorney and I love the father/son bond between him and Phoenix. Sorry about the short chapters but, well, I couldn't think of anything to make them longer. I also wondered what would happen if Apollo used his perceive ability too much and I thought about it, especially since he would be really busy in Khura'in.**

**This was the result.**

**Again, I hope you all enjoyed this.**

**Don't forget to fave.**

**-Chloemcg**


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